Early raw video: House fire with woman trapped in Whitemarsh, PA. Cops grab tools for ventilation & forcible entry.
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Video posted yesterday by firebuff1111 of a fire on October 27 in Whitemarsh Township, PA (Montgomery County) that killed 71-year-old Barbara Conicello and left her husband James with burns. Investigators say the fire was sparked by a space heater. Lincoln Fire Company was first on the scene.
In the video above it appears that police officers are among those grabbing tools and performing ventilation and forceable entry. At 4:06 on the second video (below) the evacuation tone and airhorns are sounded.
A woman is dead and her husband in the hospital after a house fire in Whitemarsh Township.
The fire broke out Saturday around 2:30 p.m. at a home on the 300 block of Roberts Avenue in the Conshohocken section of Whitemarsh.
Kyle Bagenstose, Plymouth-Whitemarsh Patch:
The fire was first reported at 3:30 p.m. as multiple area fire companies responded. One neighbor told Patch that he was the first to call 9-1-1, rushing inside to do so after speaking with the husband, who was able to escape from the house. The neighbor said that the husband was refusing to go to the hospital before learning the condition of his wife, although it is unclear at what point he was actually transported from the scene.
Lincoln Fire Company chief Jay Davis said the fire was already “extensive” by the time responders arrived at the scene. Firefighters tried to access the house on both floors from multiple directions, but were unable to locate a safe point of entry. On at least two occasions after the flames appeared to be out, small fires broke out just below the roof.
Police Chief Mike Beaty said in a statement that crews found Conicello’s husband, 70-year-old James Conicello, who had sustained burn injuries and was found in the rear of the home by police and firefighters. Beaty says “extensive fire was engulfing the entire structure” at the time.
Conicello was transported to Bryn Mawr Emergency for treatment. A spokeswoman reportedly stated that he was in fair condition.
